


Ohana Means Family, Family Means Pack

by Dreamwind



Series: 24 Hour Fic Challenge [8]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: African Wild Dogs, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Animal Transformation, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Established Relationship, F/M, First Time, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pack Dynamics, Pre-Slash, Season/Series 01, Slow Burn, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:02:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6278155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamwind/pseuds/Dreamwind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amidst corruption, betrayal, sun, sand, and shapeshifters a family is formed and the course of 8 lives are forever changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lidil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lidil/gifts).



> This was supposed to be a one-shot....but it got away from me and suddenly I ended up with another multi-chaptered fic on my hands.
> 
> \---------

**2010; Mako’s Bar & Grill, Oahu**  
  
Danny leaned back in his chair and savored the bitter taste of his beer as it slid over his tongue. It had been a long few days. Hell, it had actually been a long few weeks. Being a _haole_ at HPD was not something he enjoyed. Admittedly, he would rather they treat him honestly and openly hate him, than betray their own feelings and worship him because of what he was. Danny didn't feel like the people of Hawaii should treat him any differently than any other mainlander just because he was a shifter and they were rare, and revered in Hawaii.  
  
When he had arrived and seen how the few shifters on the force were treated like Gods that could do no wrong, he had been very glad that all his paperwork from New Jersey still had him listed as human. Thank God, for the slow speed of bureaucratic red tape in updating personnel files. If someone who turned into a goose, a dolphin, a monk seal, a turtle, or a shark, got such treatment, he worried what something a little more foreign might get. He didn't like cops getting special treatment like that because it led to them thinking they were better than, or above the law. And no one was above the law, especially cops.  
  
So Danny had kept his mouth shut when the officer from the departmental records office had asked if any of the information in his records needed to be updated. One day he might be exposed as a shifter, but for the time being at least, he knew his co-workers treatment of him would be honest, and for most of the HPD that meant Danny was person non-grata. Any request he put in would take twice as long, or be shoved to the bottom of the pile. He wouldn't be invited to departmental get-togethers and people wouldn't speak to him unless he addressed them first. Except, of course, for Officer Lukela and Danny's partner, Meka. Those two seemed to be the only ones in the HPD that he had met so far willing to treat him with respect and open kindness. Something Danny would never be able to express his proper gratitude for. Being so far away from his home and family was hard enough, but adding the cold treatment he got from his fellows cops, made being in Hawaii all the worse. So Meka and Duke being able to look past all his complaints about the sun, sand, and pineapple gave Danny a little nugget of hope that things could get better. So when the two of them invited him out for a guys night out after work, he had said "Yes."  
  
Which brought them here. A few beers, some good bar food, and several sports games playing on the various TVs in the bar, followed up by lively conversation. Danny hadn't had as good a time as this in months. Since Rachel's lawyer had called to inform him that she was moving, with Grace, to Hawaii and if he wanted to keep his time with Grace then his lawyer should contact hers so a new arrangement could be come to about Grace flying back to New Jersey when school was out. Needless to say Danny hadn't taken that well, and the ensuing court battle had burnt a lot of bridges between Rachel and him that the divorce hadn't. Which meant he hadn't been able to enjoy his last few weeks in New Jersey before he was forced to leave his family, life, and pack behind to come to a place so drastically different from the hustle and bustle of New Jersey. But, his catching therianthropy prior to Rachel getting pregnant meant that Grace had the same condition, which meant Rachel couldn’t get sole custody of their daughter, and it meant that she couldn’t move that far away unless Danny moved too.  
  
In their case, the pack bond, and the fact that a young carnivorous therianthrope could be dangerous without proper training, worked in Danny’s favor. If Rachel wanted to move, the judge had ordered her to pay for Danny to follow as a form of child support, because Danny was going to have the primary home for Grace so he could be there in case she lost control. Rachel had not been happy. Not at all. But Rachel had done it.  
  
Danny thought mostly to spite him, knowing how hard it would be on him to be away from his family and the pack made up of Firemen and Policemen that Danny had been a part of, even if he hadn’t been a wolf. And she was right. Being here without that support was hard. But little by little, Meka and Duke we're introducing him to places that reminded him of home, or that were welcoming to mainlanders. Places and people who were willing to be friendly. Things that made the move easier on him, especially during the weekends when Grace was off with her mother. So he didn’t hesitate to go out to diner with them when they asked about a guys night out.  
  
Danny smiled around the mouth of his beer bottle. Meka laughed loudly as Duke finished telling them about his most recent traffic stop. There was a friendly, contented lull in their conversation as the three men took a chance to bite into their food, or take a long pull on their beer.  
  
Danny’s ears twitched, picking up a familiar voice among the  crowd of patrons.  
  
“-don’t know who it is, but someone is selling out good cops.”  
  
“Who though,” asked a second voice, one Danny didn’t recognize.  
  
“I don’t know.” The noise of the crowd rose to a fever pitch as the favored football team scored a touchdown on one of the TVs, drowning out what the two were saying. “-my wife, Chin. I have to know.”  
  
Danny cocked his head to the side, his ears growing slightly larger as they moved up the side of his head. Duke and Meka froze, obviously startled by the sight, but Danny didn’t notice, too focused on trying to hear more. It sounded like John McGarrett and this Chin person were talking about dirty cops. Danny’s gaze narrowed, his eyes flashing gold briefly and he felt his canine teeth, lengthen. Danny hated dirty cops, he had his fill of them back in New Jersey.  
  
“Danny,” Meka interrupted.  
  
Danny blinked as he lost concentration and the voices were lost amid the crowd. “What,” he snapped.  
  
“What’s going on, partner?”  
  
Danny blushed as he felt his ears shift back into their normal human shape. “I heard Detective McGarrett talking to someone else about dirty cops.”  
  
“What,” the other two cops hissed in a low whisper. The three of them glanced about the room, relaxing as they realized no one was paying them, or Detective McGarrett, any attention.  
  
“I couldn’t make out very much, but I could make out that they knew there was at least one and that it might have something to do with McGarrett’s wife.” Danny shook his head. “I couldn’t make out anything beyond that because of the crowd.”  
  
Meka hummed and leaned back in his chair, looking over the other two very seriously. Finally he sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “That doesn’t surprise me. I’ve had my own suspicions as well. There have been just too many cases that fell apart at the last minute because undercover cops were recognized, or the perps knew a raid was coming before we were even a mile away.”  
  
Danny cursed.  
  
Duke scowled, thinking about some of the other patrol officers like himself who had died in some of those raids. “What do we do,” asked Duke. “We can’t ignore this.”  
  
“We don’t,” snarled Danny. “You don’t ignore the possibility of dirty cops.”  
  
“Agreed,” Meka replied, squeezing Danny’s shoulder. “I don’t think we should go to IA though.” Duke’s head shot up, ready to disagree. “Don’t get me wrong, Duke. They are the right way to go. But we don’t know who might be involved. Detective McGarrett’s wife died over a decade ago. If there was a cop who helped the Triads, Samoans, or one of the other gangs to kill her, still about in HPD…then, shit, the person is likely in a position that would allow them to cover-up information about the murder of a cops wife.”  
  
Danny grimaced. “Which means we’ve got to tread carefully.”  
  
“Exactly.” Meka nodded. “I think we should dig around a bit and then bring what we find to Detective McGarrett.”  
  
The three of them nodded in agreement and quietly went about planning how to handle the situation. Meka and Duke shared stories and information about McGarrett, calming Danny’s suspicions about the man quickly. Both men also seemed a bit confused on how to treat the mysterious Chin, who they said was likely Chin Ho Kelly. A former cop who had quit the HPD after they accused him of taking money from the Forfeiture Locker. Despite there being no proof most everyone in HPD had come to the agreement the man had done it. But the fact that John McGarrett, perhaps the most honest cop on the force, still trusted him said a lot to the native Hawaiians. So Danny agreed to give him a chance as well. He understood what it was like to have someone place the blame of being a dirty cop on you. He had gone through a lot of that with IA during their investigation of his former partner, so he was more willing than most to give the man a chance to prove he was on the up-and-up.  
  
  
= = = H50 = = =  
  
  
**Three Weeks Later; Danny’s House**  
  
Danny wagged his multi-colored tail and hid his face under his paws, barking a gentle countdown as Grace, Billy, Kailani, and Hiro laughed and ran through the yard. The kids were having a field day playing hide-and-seek with Danny. And Danny was man enough to admit he enjoyed it a lot as well. He was glad Grace was able to make friends with Meka’s little boy, Billy, and Duke’s two children, Kailani and Hiro. It was good to see her laughing and playing again after the stress of the divorce, remarriage, and the move.  
  
As he got down to one, he let out a long howl, and then rose up onto all fours, lifting his black furred muzzle into the air, taking in a deep breath. He could pick up the scents of the plumeria flowers that were growing all over the back yard, the mouth-watering scent of the steaks Duke was grilling on the lanai, and all the other foreign scents of a Hawaii family gathering. Hidden just under it all, he could pick up Grace’s unique scent, and the scents of the three of children. His oversized, oval shaped ears twitched on his head as he heard on of the children giggle from underneath one of the large flowering bushes.  
  
His tail wagged eagerly behind him as he put his face back towards the ground, pretending to pick up on one of the kids scent trails, weaving through the backyard close to them, but never right to them. He wandered closer to the lanai, giving a wide doggy grin to Amy Hanamoa, his tongue dangling from his mouth. She grinned back at him, and ran her fingers through the black and caramel colored fur on the top of his head. Danny grinned at her and rubbed his head against her thigh before bounding back into the yard and startling Hiro out of his hiding place behind the papaya tree. The little boy let out a whooping laugh, his thick black hair dancing in the wind as he ran back to the lanai steps with Danny right behind him. Meka scooped the little boy up, spinning him around and out of Danny’s reach before depositing him onto the lanai.  
  
Danny yipped loudly and ran back into the yard chasing down the other three.  
  
The other adults laughed and continued chatting with each other while they watched their friend essentially hunting their children. They had all been a little surprised that the straight-laced _haole_ they had come to think of as _ohana_ , was a shifter. He just didn’t remind any of them of a shifter, not that there were many in Hawaii anymore, seeing as most had been killed off by the _haoles_ who had come to Hawaii to hunt seals and whales. None of them knew of any Hawaiian shifters who tended to be as anti-nature as Danny. Heck, most Hawaiian shifter you had to drag kicking and screaming indoors, and often they had as little clothing on as they could get away with in public. Danny seemed to hate sand, sea, and the jungle. Loudly complaining about sand getting everywhere, of the biting bugs, and humidity. He complained about what saltwater did to his hair, of the stinging jellyfish and sharks hidden in it’s depths. And then there was his clothing. Danny dressed like he was ready to go to court at the drop of a hat, all button-ups, slacks, oxfords, and ties. And half his suits didn’t even seem to be made from fabrics appropriate to a tropical climate.  
  
At first Meka assumed it was all an act of rebellion, but then he realized it was just that Danny wanted something familiar to remind him of home, and that he didn’t have the money to change his entire wardrobe as well as Grace’s. Grace was Danny’s main priority, and so he had replaced her clothes as soon as they had found a small house to call home. The house was the only sign Danny wasn’t as tight laced as his appearance made you think. It was miles outside of town, on a bluff that gave it a decent few of the city on one side, and the ocean on the other. Behind it was lush jungle with a few other homes scattered down the roadway. The house itself was a cute little 3 bedroom, 2 bath with a large wrap-around lanai. It had been painted a crisp white with tropical blue trim, and the underside of the lanai roof was simply a rich stained wood. The door had been painted the same as the trim, which only made the amber colored stained glass rectangle at the top of the door stand out all the more. It had large windows in almost every room with Bahama shutters on the outside, once again in the tropical blue of the trim. The flooring inside had been sanded and restrained by Danny and Meka only the week before, so that they were now a lovely pale gold color. The ceilings inside were also expose stained wood, which they had not had to do fortunately enough.  
  
They still had some thing at the house that needed working on and fixing up, but the roof no longer leaked, the air conditioning was working again, and all the walls except the family room at the back had been painted. The kitchen needed an update and the family room needed to have the drywall replaced on one side. But otherwise the house was livable and rather charming, even if it had a few quirks. In fact, it reminded Meka a bit of his partner in that respects.  
  
Meka smiled as Danny swerved to avoid the small garden Grace had started only this past week, and nearly crashed into his daughter, who tumbled to the ground laughing. She wiggled about under her father, pushing at his face as he covered her in doggy kisses.  
  
“Daddy,” she laughingly cried out.  
  
“Come on, all of you,” Amy called form the lanai. “Dinners ready!”  
  
Danny stood up, allowing Grace to run up to the lanai with the other children, who were already clamoring for the hamburgers that Duke had been grilling for them alongside the steaks. Danny shook himself off, bits of grass and leaves floating away. Giving his body a quick look over, Danny bounded up the steps and weaved his way past his guests and into his house where he had left his clothes. It only took about a minute to shift back to human form, and then another two to get back into his shorts and tee-shirt. By the time he walked back out to the lanai, Amy and Yoriko had already dished him up a plate. A rare steak, some spicy kimchee, freshly sliced pineapple, a sweet roll with a dab of honey butter, and two rice balls with picked plumbs in the middle. It was an eclectic meal, but everything looked very delicious.  
  
He thanked the two women, and Duke, for the meal, and took his place seated between Meka and Grace. They all dug in, savoring the meal, and each others company. Several hours passed in a similar manner, the children altering between playing in the yard, and running back to the kitchen for snacks, while the adults sat in the family room sharing stories. Danny was glad for a night in with his friends, his new _ohana_ , but he was worried about bringing Amy and Yoriko in on their investigation. All three men were worried, but Yoriko’s job at the bank would help speed things along, and Meka wasn’t comfortable leaving Amy the only one out of the loop.  
  
So while the children were busy playing Yoriko updated them on what she found at the bank.  
  
“Do we know who the owner of the bank account is,” Meka asked.  
  
York shook her head. “No. The bank refused to tell me and with the way the laws for banking are in Singapore, one of us would have to go directly to the bank to get the information. Either we need to get a warrant from a local judge, or one of us will need to pretend to be the account holder.”  
  
“Shit,” Danny cursed. “That leaves me out. I’m too new to the department. If I leave, someone is going to notice and complain about it, which could lead to them looking into where I am going.”  
  
The others nodded.  
  
“Plus,” Duke pointed out. “If you leave what will you do about Grace?”  
  
Danny sighed. “I could leave her with Rachel, but she’d likely use it as leverage in court to have our custody agreement changed.”  
  
“Then we cross you out right now, Danny,” Amy said in a stern, no-nonsense voice.  
  
“Perhaps,” Duke commented. “This is a sign that it’s time we approached John McGarrett and Chin Ho Kelly with what we’ve got.”  
  
Danny grimaced, only because he knew this meant he was going to have to show the two men that he was a shifter. Something he had been managing to keep the rest of the HPD from learning. But Meka and Duke both believed that Detective McGarrett could be trusted, and as such, so could former Sargent Kelly. At the worst them knowing might mean that others learned and were prepared for his alter.  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, let’s talk to McGarrett and Kelly,” Danny said. “Duke, you know them best. Why don’t you give them a call and ask them to come over.”  
  
“Now,” he asked.  
  
“Better now when all of us are here already.”  
  
“Alright.” Duke stood up, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He gave the others a nod and moved towards the front of the house and the formal sitting room. Stopping near the window, Duke quickly dialed in John’s home phone number.  
  
**“McGarrett,”** came the voice over the phone.  
  
“Hello John. This is Duke.”  
  
**“Duke. Is something wrong?”**  
  
“No. I just need to speak with you and Chin about something I’ve found. Are you free today?”  
  
John was silent on the other end for a moment. Obviously curious, but worried about what Duke may have found that would involve Chin and him. Duke understood the man’s paranoia flag was up now and even though he knew and trusted Duke, that didn’t mean he would just stroll on over.  
  
“It’s important, John. It’s not something that should be talked about over a phone like this.”  
  
**“Why are you calling me about it, Duke?”**  
  
“Because you are the most honest man I know. I don’t know who else we can bring this information to.”  
  
**“Who is ‘we,’ Duke?”**  
  
Duke glanced back down the length of the room to the back of the house where the others were waiting. “Please, John. They are trustworthy. I stake my life on it!” Duke took a long breath. “Please help us.”  
  
There was another long silence on the other end of the phone, and for a moment Duke thought for sure that John’s paranoia would stop him from helping them. But finally, finally, then man sighed and spoke up.  
  
**“Alright. Where do I need to go?”**  
  
Pleased, Duke rattled off Danny’s address and promised he would be waiting out in front of the house. Hanging up the phone he went back to the others, telling them that John and Chin were on their way over, but they were not fully trusting of the situation. That seemed to relax Danny, rather than upset the spitfire Jersey native. Duke had expected one of Danny’s long winded rants that were quickly becoming a department legend all of their own. When he voiced his shock, Danny just chuckled and said that if McGarrett had simply trusted them blindly then they would have to worry that he was the corrupt cop, and that the whole thing with Danny overhearing him in the bar had been a setup.  
  
While they waited for their guests to turn up, the children came back inside from the yard. They had crowns of flowers on their heads and smears of dirt across their hands, arms, and faces. Amy and Yoriko each let out a gusty, long suffering sigh that only mothers could do, while the men simply chuckled at the appearance of their kids. Duke smiled at the site, ruffled his sons hair, and walked back to the front of the house so that he could wait for John and Chin to arrive. The door clicked shut behind Duke while Danny pulled Grace to him, rubbing the dirt off her face with a napkin that was still relatively clean, before leaning down to place a kiss on the top of her head.  
  
“Look at you four,” Danny chuckled. “You look like homeless elves!”  
  
“Danno,” Grace whined as he playfully tugged on the end of one of her pigtails, which had congealed into a spike from all the dried mud in it.  
  
“What,” he teasingly asked.  
  
Before Grace could complain about him messing about with her hair, the front door opened up and Duke walked in leading two men. one of whom Danny only vaguely recognized from seeing him around the HPD.  
  
John McGarrett looked like a cop. That was the only way of describing him. He carried himself with determination and purpose, his strides even and controlled. His face was stern, but with a warmth in his eyes that made you trust him. His hair was neatly trimmed and style, but not to the point that a businessman like Stan would have. There was no product in his hair to slick in back, and the gray woven through the brown did not look to have ever been dyed. He wore his age like a badge of honor, and Danny could respect that.  
  
“Why don’t you kids go upstairs and clean all the mud off,” Danny told Grace with a warm smile. “We’ve got to talk to Detective McGarrett and Sargent Kelly for a bit. Okay?”  
  
“Alright, Danno,” Grace replied with a smile, reaching out to take Billy’s hand. Billy smiled at his parents and Danny, before skipping along behind Grace.  
  
Yoriko waved her own kids to follow, calling out for them not to run in the house as they dashed off towards the stairs. She sigh when they didn’t listen and pushed herself out of her chair. “Let me get some coffee. John, why don’t you and Chin take a seat.”  
  
The two men looked away from the children, John’s eyes filled with a sad longing. The look reminded Danny that Duke had said John’s son had left for the mainland at 16 and had only been back twice since. Danny couldn’t imagine how lonely he would be if Grace had left and only bothered to visit him twice over such a long time. It was no wonder the man’s life had come to revolve around his job as much as it had in the last few years.  
  
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Danny stood up and offered his hand. “I’m Detective Danny Williams, formerly of New Jersey. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”  
  
They two men shook his hand, looking him over like he was a possible murder suspect.  
  
“As we don’t know what the circumstances are, Detective, I think I’ll hold my opinion for now,” comment Chin.  
  
Danny smiled. “I understand.” He waved towards the family room seating.  
  
The two men walked past him into the room, greeting the Meka and the ladies. Chin took the armchair next to where Yoriko and Duke were seated, and Detective McGarrett took the last the second armchair between Chin and Danny. There was a brief moment of silence as everyone sat back down, broken only by Meka pulling some papers out of his son’s backpack, setting them on the coffee table between everyone, while Yoriko turned on her laptop and started opening the files she had managed to secure and save to the cloud.  
  
“What’s this all about,” asked John.  
  
“Danny, Meka, and I overheard you and Chin a couple weeks back at Mako’s. Well, actually, Danny overheard you.”  
  
John’s gaze snapped between Duke and Danny. “That was a pretty crowded bar, Detective.”  
  
“It was.” Danny met his gaze. “If I wasn’t what I was, I’d never have heard anything.”  
  
“Oh,” inquired John.  
  
Danny stood up, pulling his tee-shirt off over his head and handing it off to Meka. Chin looked him over curious, while John simply arched an eyebrow at him, like he was Mr. Spock and Danny was Captain Kirk doing something foolish. Danny ignored the looks, and quickly tugged off his shorts, leaving himself naked before them all. the ladies blushed but didn’t look away. John looked him over with a calculating eye as if he had already figured out where this was going, which wouldn’t be too much of a surprise since his gaze was lingering on the scare on Danny’s left shoulder. It was a bite mark, a big one, one not made by human teeth.  
  
Danny closed his eyes and exhaled, ignoring the way his skin tingled like it did when your leg fell asleep. Though this was worse as it covered your whole body. Fortunately it didn’t last long as the shift between human and canine was actually pretty fast. For which Danny was grateful as the first time hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. The first time you could feel your bones snapping, your muscles tearing apart, and organs moving about. Now the worst he felt was the pin-and-needles at the beginning. The rest of the shift just went too fast for his brain to process the pain signals.  
  
“Jesus,” cursed Chin, automatically leaning away from the large predator now standing next to his friend.  
  
John leaned forward, no fear apparent to Danny either in his body language, expression, or scent. “Impressive. May I,” he asked, stretching a hand towards Danny.  
  
Danny nodded and stepped forward so that the man fingers brushed the fur between his ears.  
  
John moved his hand slowly, fingers digging into the tricolored fur, scratching Danny just behind the ears, making his tail wag unconsciously. John was more than a little surprised to find the mainlander who was currently a hot topic in the HPD, was in fact a shifter. The man didn’t act or dress like any of the shifters who were native to the island. Hell, he didn’t really act like the ones who weren’t native, either. He was too button-downed. Which made John think the man might be a turned shifter, not a natural born shifter. Which was rare, but seemed all the more likely based on the scares the man bore on his shoulder, and the fact that he was a white man who turned into an African Wild Dog. John had never seen one of the animals, or their shifter counter part, in real life. Only photos and documentary specials that his son used to be obsessed with. But the black, white, and caramel colored coat was too recognizable to be anything else.  
  
“Impressive,” he commented.  
  
It was honest. He had expected the animal would look more wolf-like being a candid as well, but like the photographs he vaguely remembered, the wild dog was different. It’s fur was shorter on the body, fluffy on the tail, and almost mane-like on the neck. Not to mention all the other differences, such as the large oval-snapped bat-like ears, the almost cheetah-like body, and the muzzle was wider and stronger looking than a wolves narrow muzzle. Danny made a beautiful animal. John couldn’t help but admire the the pattern of his coat, the white going over his shoulder and front legs, the black spot dotting the white, the caramel and black patch over the elbow, almost like a garter, the smaller patch of white on the abdomen, back legs, and feet, the caramel dots amid the black of his ribs and spin, more caramel on his rump, and the white flag of his tail tip.  
  
“Very impressive, Detective.” John slowly drew his hand back, and leaned back in his seat. “You’ve done an amazing job keeping the HPD from finding out about your alter.”  
  
Danny sat back on his heels, tongue lulling out the side of his mouth in a wide canine grin.  
  
Meka rolled his eyes and whistled. Danny turned to look at him, and Meka pushed Danny’s clothes into his open mouth. “Go get dressed so we can talk the out like adults.”  
  
Danny wagged his tail once and trotted off into the other room. It only took a matter of minutes for them to sit quietly waiting for Danny to come back in human form, clothed again. He dropped back down into his empty seat beside Meka, resting his arm on the back of the couch.  
  
“So why are we here,” asked Chin.  
  
Danny, Meka, and Duke looked at each other silently conversing over who would be the one to explain. In the end, Duke rolled his eyes and accepted that the other two figured John would take the information better from him.  
  
“We’ve got proof that there is at least one dirty cop in HPD. Possibly more considering that no one, not even IA, has noticed the spike in blown cases lately. Raids getting blown, leads drying up, busts coming up empty…”  
  
John’s hands clenched on the armrests of his chair, his lips a thin, grim line on his face. “And you know we were looking corruption in the department.”  
  
“Yes.” Duke handed over the paperwork they had accumulated. “This is information on all the cases we suspect to have been tampered with, along with a list of suspects. We’ve also got bank records linking someone in HPD to the Ochoa Cartel, a human trafficker named Sang Min, a gun runner named Duran, and several suspected drug dealers.”  
  
Chin cursed and leaned over to look at the papers that Duke had handed to John.  
  
“This is big,” the former cop commented. “Something this big couldn’t be handled all by one man.”  
  
“That’s what we’ve been thinking as well,” Danny replied. “We suspect that there has to be at least one other in either IA, or a position of power. A unit chief, or even someone in the mayors office. But we haven’t found them yet.”  
  
John stared down at the papers for a long time, contemplating the information they had dug up. He hadn’t even suspected there might be one or more corrupt cops in HPD that weren’t working with Governor Jameson, Noshimura, and Wo Fat. This whole circle of corruption was apparently bigger than he had anticipated. Chin and he weren’t going to be able to handle this on their own.  
  
“This is big.” John set the papers down on the table, looking each of them in the eye. “This might or might not be tied into the the corruption are were looking at. We had been looking higher up the food chain.”  
  
Danny’s eyes went wide. “You don’t mean a unit chief do you? Damn.”  
  
“We have reason to believe that Governor Jameson is working with the Yakuza and a third party simply known as Wo Fat.”  
  
“So,” Meka wondered out loud. “What’s our next step?”


	2. Chapter 2

**3 Days Later; West Wind Gallery, Honolulu**  
  
  
Danny winced at the bright lights on one of the “art pieces” as it flash in front of him. He didn’t understand modern art at all. It all looked like garbage or something a child younger than Grace could do. Certainly none of this, the giant winking eye, the sculpture of a fish head coming out of a theatre mask, or the three rectangular canvases painted blue with a single strip of white down the center, looked like something people would be spending hundreds of dollars on. Hell, some of it looked like the “artist” had simply gone dumpster diving and put a price tag on it.  
  
He couldn’t tell if Chin agreed with him or not. The Korean man was damned good at keeping a neutral expression on his face as they made their way through the crowd, past Meka and Amy, and Duke and John.  
  
“So this is the ‘Apocalypse of Moana As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Misanthropic Deity.’ What is that even supposed to mean,” thinned Danny.  
  
Chin shrugged, obviously as confused as Danny over the title.

“You known, Grace, used to paint stuff like this in kindergarten.”  
  
Chin chuckled and looked around. “She might have a future in art.”  
  
Danny snorted. “She’d be better off not to. My youngest sister tried to go into art. She was damned good at painting. Couldn’t sell any of it ‘cause people just want crap like this rather than something that takes actual skill.”  
  
Chin looked at Danny surprised. “I didn’t take you for a fan of art.”  
  
“Not this modern shit.” Danny shook his head and turned away from the pantings, looking about the room again for any sign of their target. “I prefer Classical art or Impressionism. Now that, that is real art.”  
  
Chin guided Danny through the crowd towards a small statue made from popsicle sticks. “That’s a Clifton Bowels original.”  
  
“Eh,” Danny replied with a shrug of his shoulder. “Still looks like a kids school craft project.”  
  
“Even if you don’t like it, it is still selling, and the best cover they could ask for is a legit business.”  
  
“And offering this stuff up to people with too much spare cash, gives them legit revenue and a damn good cover for any other high priced transactions.”  
  
“Correct,” Chin agreed.  
  
Meka and Amy were weaving through the crowd nearby when they spotted a well dressed man in a suit walk towards a guarded door at the back, with two young women, dressed in black cocktail dresses that hide practically nothing. “I think I may have just spotted our gate keeper. We’re going to need a pass to get to the man behind the curtain.”  
  
Amy smiled and patted his shoulder. “I need to use the restroom, hon. I’ll be right back.”  
  
She smiled and sashayed away through the crowd, bumping into a young man coming from the back room as she tried to avoid a crowd of slightly drunk party girls as they cooed over a sculpture of a man dancing with a dog. Meka looked up and strode over to her, catching her before she could fall. “You alright?”  
  
“I’m fine.” She looked up at the young man she had collided with. “I’m so sorry.”  
  
“No prob, babe. They’re taking up the whole isle,” he said with a glare towards the drunk young women. “Honestly.”  
  
With a last apology she and Meka made their way from the young man towards Danny and Chin, slipping Chin the card they had pulled off the other man, as they walked past. Chin and Danny caught Duke and John’s eye, tilting their heads towards the guarded back room ever so slightly to confirm they were going in.  
  
Striding purposefully towards the gatekeeper, with as nonchalant an air as they could, Danny and Chin proceeded forward. They were almost there. on the other side of that velvet rope was the man who could tell them who the mole in HPD was that was working with the cartels. If they were lucky the man just might be able to give them the Governor as well.  
  
A very attractive blonde woman met them as they made their way towards the gate keeper, asking them if they were wanting to purchase anything. Chin smoothly replied that they were looking for a specific piece, and flashed the small white card. The blond looked them over, her blue eyes managing to project her skepticism even though she causally led them past the guard and into the back room. The room she led them into was long and narrow. The back wall opposite the entrance seemed to made of floor to ceiling windows, though the were covered in long white curtains. A long wooden table was at the center of the room with a white shag carpet beneath it, and there, just past the table was the man they were looking for.  
  
His long dark hair was nearly the same color as the suit jacket he worse, but it was slightly stringy and looked like he might not have washed it that day. He was busy cajoling three lovely young ladies dressed in 60s era minidresses, to flounce about in various poses as he took pictures of him. Danny arched an eyebrow at the sight and shared an amused look with Chin.  
  
“More art,” teased Danny.  
  
“Probably not to your taste,” Chin replied with a smile. “We’ve got two other guests.”  
  
“And if this goes bad?”  
  
“You take the ugly one,” Chin offered.  
  
Danny rolled his eyes, but agreed. Hopefully they could do this without a fight involved since they had no warrant for their little mission.  
  
The blonde woman leaned over to whisper in their contacts ear, her blue eyes briefly looking up towards Danny and Chin. The man practically jumped to his feet waving the models out amidst complaints. As the girls turned to walk away he moved closer to Danny and Chin, hands speed wide before clapping together in front of him.  
  
“Hello gentlemen,” he gave Chin a lingering once over. “Let’s have a little chat.”  
  
Chin smiled at him as he slowed to a stop in front of the both of them. Despite the friendly greeting, Chin had a bad feeling building in his gut.  
  
“Could we, uh, chat in private,” Danny asked, giving a significant look towards the two guards.  
  
“Get Out! Get Out,” the man called out, gesturing wildly.  
  
The two bodyguards glanced briefly at each other, but complied with the demand. Based on their expression, Chin was sure they were probably used to this happening. So likely they were not in on the gallery owner’s side business with the cartel. Or if they were, they were low enough on the ladder not to be needed for negotiations.  
  
“Okay, so now we’re just having a good ol’ time,” Bastille said in a jovial tone of voice, making Chin smile widely despite his misgivings. “Now, I, uh, don’t know who you are because I’ve never seen you before in my life.”  
  
Danny lifted his chin at the man, his gaze never leaving the man’s own bloodshot gaze.  
  
“Well, my friend here just came in from out of town,” Chin calmly stated, motioning at Danny who flashed a grin filled with suddenly sharper looking teeth.  
  
“Ooookay. And would this be the first piece you are purchasing from us?”  
  
Danny’s grin widened and he moved towards the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “It would be, yes.”  
  
“Well then,” he grinned at them, his lose body language telling them he was more than a little drunk or high, but still there enough to be wary of their actual purpose in his gallery. He pulled out his own seat next to Danny, practically collapsing into the chair, legs spread wide, chest unobstructed. He was trying to project an aura of calmness to them, perhaps to buy time for more guards than the two who were here to come to his aid, maybe to thinking he could lull them into revealing who they really were, or concerned that they might be working or his supplier? Chin tried to calculate the probabilities but the variables were just too many.  
  
“Are you interested in a specific piece?”  
  
“We are, if by ‘piece’ you mean ‘key.’ For those of us not interested in modern art,” Danny replied with a flash of fang.  
  
The man swallowed nervously. “I don’t have any idea what you are talking about. Um, at all.”  
  
Chin tried not to give away how amused he was, as Danny relaxed further and further into the uncomfortable seat, his blonde hair shifting colors gradually to the caramel and black shade of his fur.  
  
“But, if you are wanting to buy a piece it is very simple.” The man stood up in a flurry of gestures. “Here’s how it works…75% down now and another 25% upon delivery.”  
  
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Danny replied with a grin. “And if we should prefer to pay Ochoa directly?”  
  
Bastille froze, his eyes widening slightly, gaze darting between the two men lounging very casually in front of him.  
  
“He’s in town. Right,” Chin calmly inquired.  
  
Bastille swallowed thickly, his pupils contracting into pinpricks as adrenaline began to flood his system. He took two quick steps back from them as Danny slowly rose to his feet. “You two need to get out of here. Right now!”  
  
His gaze darted fearfully towards the two curtained off entrances to the room.  
  
“Right now!”  
  
Danny strode calm closer, even as Bastille continued to back up. “I’m sorry,” Danny replied in a cold tone. “Did we say something wrong?”  
  
“No,” the man practically yipped. “I just don’t like you.” He dove for the panic button at the end of the table only to cry out in pain as he suddenly found himself pinned beneath the heavy weight of an adult shifter. His cry drew the attention of his guards, who had been carefully listening from the other side of the curtain.  
  
“Oh, great,” complained Chin.  
  
Danny silently cursed as the seams of his suit tore apart as he shifter forms, snapping his fangs at the man pinned beneath him. Bastille cried out in fear, but didn’t try to escape, too scared to even think of it. Danny pressed his weight hard down on the man as he looked up to catch sight of Chin throwing one of the bodyguards over his shoulder, onto the floor. The downed man groaned but froze as the rest of the team poured into the room, guns drawn.  
  
“Freeze, HPD,” called out Duke.  
  
“Hands up,” Meka demanded of the second guard. “Put the gun down and get on your knees.”  
  
John strode into the room and straight over to where Danny was pinning Bastille to the ground. “Where’s Ochoa?”  
  
“I’m not saying a word!”  
  
“If you want to do it the hard way you should have just said so.” John looked at Danny, whose fangs were still barred. “My good friend here, hasn’t had diner yet.”  
  
Danny leaned down, sniffing at Bastille’s neck, pressing his teeth lightly against the vulnerable flesh of his neck. Danny clawed at his chest, tearing the shirt and digging into the skin just enough for little welts to appear on the pale, sweaty skin. “Are you sure?”  
  
“No. No. No,” he chanted.  
  
“If you’re sure?”  
  
Danny lifted his head up to look the whimpering man in the eye, then darted forward snapping his jaws shut next to Bastille’s ears, making him scream and piss himself.  
  
“Okay! Okay!”  
  
“Where’s Ochoa,” John demanded.  
  
The man whimpered again as Danny lifted his head up, away from his exposed throat.  
  
“There’s a shipment coming in day after tomorrow. Ochoa is supposed to met with me in Wailua.” He panted and look away. “At the old coffee plantation.”  
  
“How is Ochoa smuggling cocaine onto the island without getting busted?”  
  
Bastille licked his lips and looked nervously at the two guards being cuffed by Duke and Meka. He looked quickly away and back to John. “He uses a guy…some asian guy whose into human trafficking. And he’s got a man inside. In HPD. A guy who tells him every single move the cops make.”  
  
“Not every move,” John replied looking at Danny.  
  
Bastille whimpered again as Danny leaned closer, growling lowly.  
  
“Who is it,” demanded Chin.  
  
“I don’t know! I don’t! Ochoa is the only one who knows!”  
  
“You sure about that,” John asked looking at Danny.  
  
Bastille whimpered again as Danny pressed more of his weight down on him. “I’m sure! I swear!”  
  
“Alright then.” John gave Chin a significant look. Chin nodded and left the room. He would take Amy out of the building, retrieve the spare suit for Danny from the car, and then leave again. John would call in to a friend of his to get a post-dated warrant for a suspected art theft bust on the gallery so that they had a legal reason to be there, and then they would cart Bastille in to interrogation and watch to see who took an interest. They wouldn’t be able to hold him on it since there wasn’t any stolen art in the gallery, but it would buy them time to get Kamekona to give them a name for the most likely human trafficker on the island who could be smuggling Ochoa into Hawaii, and if they were lucky then the smuggler would spill the beans on who the dirty cop was that was selling out good men to the cartels. If they didn’t know, well they would still have Ochoa, the smuggler, and Bastille. Who they could charge for dealing drugs after the fact.  
  
= = = H50 = = =  
  
**The Next Day; Honolulu Police Department**  
  
John and Danny finished talking with their captain, who was none too happy that he hadn’t heard about the raid on West Wind Gallery that John had headed last night. But considering it was John McGarrett, a man he had known for over thirty years, he was kept his threats to a minimum. He had enough problems what with Meka coming to him about an out of state for a wedding his wife had forgotten to tell him about. As far as anyone else would know, the captain would have approved the vacation time months ago. Mostly because he didn’t like his detectives thinking he was a softie. But he liked Meka and his wife. They were good people. And John was probably the only one on the force who would take Williams as a temporary partner without complaint. So, he had called them in the office, told Meka to leave to pack for his vacation, and told the other two men he was assigning them as partners. That pretty much solved most of his problems for the morning.  
  
Of course, neither John or Danny were going to give away the goose when the golden egg was falling into their laps, so to speak. So they had agreed to the captain’s decision and walked out of the office and back to the bullpen, where John “quietly” told Danny about last night raid and his suspicion that stolen art was the least of what might be being felt out of the back room of the gallery. They both carefully watched the other cops in the room, while pretending not to. At first glance the looks they got were nothing more than the normal looks of cops looking for juicy office gossip, but Danny thought that Detective Kaleo was paying too little attention, considering how much he usually paid to Meka and Danny.  
  
“So what’s the plan,” Danny asked John.  
  
“We’ll bring him into interrogation and start with questions about the stolen art, then slowly shift into the rumors that drugs can be purchased at the gallery. If we’re lucky he’ll be stupid enough to make a mistake.”  
  
“And if he’s not?”  
  
John pretended to scowl and took a long drink of his cold coffee. “Then we’ll be forced to let him go until we can get more evidence.”  
  
Danny sighed, watching Kaleo out of the corner of his eyes. “This would go better if you had more than rumors, McGarrett.”  
  
“Sometimes a rumor is all you need.” John stood up. “You coming or not? We’ve only got him for a few more hours before his lawyer can get him out of here.”  
  
“Fine. I’m coming.”  
  
The two strode out of the bullpen, Danny waving at Meka who was locking up his desk, as they went past. Meka smirked and called out for him to try and be on his best behavior, his eyes rolling towards Kaleo, signaling he had noticed the odd behavior as well.  
  
The hallway outside the bullpen was mostly empty. A few patrolmen went by occasionally, a clerk running to and fro, but otherwise silent. Danny wanted to talk. To rant and wave his hands about, but didn’t dare. He still had to pretend that he had only met John the night before when he asked Meka to assist with the raid. This, Danny knew, was going to be the hardest part of their plan. If Bastille didn’t agree to pretend they hadn’t asked about Ochoa already, if he let anything slip, then their chances of catching the mole inside HPD, along with Ochoa, would be lost.  
  
Danny didn’t like having so many of their eggs in one basket. Even if Chin was able to get Kamekona to give up a name, they could still miss catching Ochoa. If the bank in Singapore wasn’t willing to give Meka the name they could lose the mole, and he, or she, would know someone was onto them and go to ground.  
  
There were just too many ‘ifs.’  
  
“Try to relax, Danny. People are going to think you never interviewed a suspect before.”  
  
Danny shook himself and looked over at the old cop. He was right, Danny had to get his head back in the game if their end of the plan was going to work. “Sorry. There’s just something about the guy that off-putting.”  
  
John chuckled and slapped Danny’s back. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”  
  
Finally they reached the interview room where Bastille and his lawyer were already seated and waiting. John walked in first, with Danny right behind him. As Bastille caught sight of Danny he whimpered, the room filling with the scent of his fear. Not that anyone but Danny noticed that.  
  
They went through the normal formalities, laying out the charges, confirming Bastille knew his rights, and then started in on the questioning. Bastille, surprisingly, played his part perfectly. Even his lawyer believed it, which was good considering how expensive the guy was, which meant he likely had not been hired by Bastille himself, but by his employer.  
  
This part was going to be the hardest because Chin would need to get a hold of Kamekona, his CI, get the information to Duke, and get everything set up so that when they were done questioning Bastille they could immediately raid the human trafficker before Bastille would have his paperwork finished so that he could leave. Chin had already agreed to get his younger cousin, Kono, in as their undercover agent if need, despite her only being part way through the Police Academy. She would be the best bet to get into the bolt hole of the trafficker, to allow for a speedy, and legal, take down.  
  
Now they just needed to buy Chin a few hours to get it all in place.  
  
= = = H50 = = =  
  
**Five Hours Later; Honolulu Dockyard**  
  
Everything was in place, everyone was ready. The name Kamekona had given up had matched the name that Bastille had accidentally given up as someone who could smuggle in stolen goods form the mainland. Apparently this snakehead called Sang Min had his fingers in a lot of pies. While they hadn’t expected it, it would still work in their favor. It gave them an even more valid reason to set up a raid on Sang Min, and fortunately enough the raid was already in place and ready to go before anyone else at HPD knew that Bastille had talked.  
  
That wouldn’t last however, so they all knew they were on a time crunch. But, Danny felt confident they could pull it off. They would snag Sang Min and see if they could get him to talk and give up his contact in HPD. If not they could still get him locked up for smuggling stolen goods.  
  
Danny sat back in the mobile surveillance vehicle, watching the screen as Kono made her way into the building where Sang Min was waiting, surrounded by his men.  
  
Duke, John, and three other cops they were positive were clean, were waiting in full tactical gear to rush in to her defense. Danny was still getting his vest on, while Meka’s cousin manned the surveillance equipment, listening to everything going on in the building while Danny and John watched the thermal on a separate monitor.  
  
The sound of Kono’s voice was filling the cabin, and Danny felt his Dog stirring at the back of his mind.  
  
**“I can find you whatever you want,”** came Sang Min’s voice.  
  
**“I want my fathers jade dragon.”** Kono gave her voice a hesitant tone. **“And I want my father out of Taipei as well.”**  
  
Danny growled as the thermal screen showed one of the bodyguards shifting closer to Kono.  
  
**“I can get them both to you in a week,”** Sang Min said with confidence. **“But paying for it? That’s the hard part.”**  
  
**“I have money,”** Kono replied.  
  
**“Do you mind if I ask what you do?”** Sang Min stood up and moved out from behind his desk, coming to a stop in front of Kono.  
  
**“I work at the cannery on Pacific…and weekends as a housekeeper at the Royal Hawaiian.”**  
  
**“Two jobs,”** he replied with a note of surprise. **“Very commendable. Only I’m afraid the kind of money we’re talking about might be out of your reach. Unless of course,”** he said reaching out to run his fingers through her hair, **“We find some other form of payment.”**  
  
He stopped talking and Danny’s hackles went up. “He suspects!”  
  
“Calm down, Danny. Give her time,” John said, squeezing Danny’s arm gently.  
  
**“Sand,”** came his voice over the speaker once more. **“What kind of person working two jobs has time to go to the beach?”**  
  
“if he smells a trap he’s gonna kill her,” Danny growled.  
  
“Trust her, Danny.”  
  
**“I surf during my lunch hour,”** came Kono’s voice once more. Softer this time, a touch more feminine than it had been before.  
  
**“Or maybe you’re a cop.”**  
  
All of them froze, listening carefully in case this was the moment they needed to rush in.  
  
**“Did anyone check her for a wire,”** asked Sang Min.  
  
**“We checked her when she came in,”** said one of the burly bodyguards, in a deep voice full of confidence.  
  
Sang Min turned to face the bodyguard, and Danny felt the shift right at the edges of his control. The wild dog wanting to come out. To hunt.  
  
**“Well maybe you missed it,”** he snarled. **“Take of your dress. So I know you’re not wearing a wire.”**  
  
There was a momentary pause as Kono’s figure on the screen seemed to hesitate before reaching to pull off the cotton dress she was wearing. Finally it was off, sitting by her feet in a pile.  
  
**“Turn around,”** Sang Min demanded, voice hard.  
  
Kono did as commanded.  
  
Danny growled louder now as they watched Sang Min run his fingers over her back, down towards her panties. John squeezed his arm hard and quietly commanded the others to get in position, that they were going to go in shortly. Danny could feel his teeth growing longer, sharper as he watched Sang Min finally remove his hand and move back to lean against his desk.  
  
**“Can I put my dress back on,”** Kono asked in a quiet voice.  
  
Sang Min didn’t answer. On the screen Danny could see the man raise up his cell phone and snap a picture.  
  
**“What are you doing,”** Kono asked in an embarrassed panic.  
  
**“I’m gonna send this photo to a friend of mine.”**  
  
“We’ve got a wire on that phone! I’m tracing it now,” Meka’s cousin, Ailani, called out to the team.  
  
**“And he’s gonna show it to his friends, and if anyone recognizes you…you’re dead.”**  
  
“Oh my god,” she whispered. Ailani turned to look at John and Danny. “It’s tracing back to HPD!”  
  
“Fuck,” John cursed. “Can you trace to which desk or unit?”  
  
“I’ll try!”  
  
“John,” Danny growled. “We have to go in. Now! They’ve made her!”  
  
On the screen two of the three bodyguards suddenly charged Kono. She flipped one over and spun about as the second charged at her. She punched him and twisted back towards the first attacker, knocking him back down before her body jerked unnaturally and crumpled to the ground. Danny screamed at the team to “GO! GO NOW!”  
  
In a mad rush they ran into the building, guns raised. The third body guard, who had been standing closest to Sang Min still had his gun aimed at Kono, when they kicked down the door. He swung his gun about but was shot by Duke before he could fire off a round. Sang Min darted behind his desk as John ran forward yelling at the other snakeheads to stand down with their hand behind their backs. Danny was already rushing to Kono’s side, checking to find her pulse when one of the other officers, Morgan, squared off with Sang Min.  
  
The snakehead glared and raised his hands as Morgan approached.  
  
“Gun,” yelled john as he caught sight of one of the downed men drawing his weapon.  
  
Morgan twisted about, firing off a shot, taking out the underling, but turning his back on Sang Min in the process. Before any of the rest of them could react Sang Min had drawn his own weapon and fired off a dozen rounds, hitting Morgan in the chest and forcing the rest of them to take cover.  
  
Danny grabbed Kono, pulling her with him behind several steel file cabinets. Looking down at her, he cursed. They needed to end this now. Kono was bleeding out. He clamped his hand over the wound in her throat, putting pressure on it.  
  
“Come on, Kono. You can’t go out like this!” Danny set his gun down and grabbed on of her hands in his. “What’ll Chin do without you?”  
  
Kono tried to answer, but her words were blocked by the blood pouring up out of her mouth.  
  
“Shit! Shit! Shit,” Danny cursed. He looked around the side of the cabinets they were hiding behind. John, Duke and the two other reinforcements were still gunning off with Sang Min and one of his goons. Turning back towards Kono, Danny cursed again. There was no way she was going to make it out of her alive at this rate.  
  
“Kono,” he called to her gently. “Kono! I can save you!”  
  
Her eyes widened and she coughed up more blood. Danny squeezed her hand.  
  
“I can save you. If you trust me?”  
  
She nodded, though it might have just been her head rolling as she seemed to be getting close to losing consciousness from the blood loss.  
  
“Trust me.” Danny let go of her hand and neck, yanking at his clothes, hoping off buttons in his haste to get them off.  
  
Kono blinked slowly at him, her eyes not seeming to focus too well.  
  
With a painful groan Danny forced his body into shifting faster than he ever had before.The change rolled over him in a painful wave, but in seconds rather than minutes, he was in his African Wild Dog form hunched over the now fainting Kono. Whining, he bit down on his tongue until he could taste his own blood filling his mouth, then without hesitation, he began licking at Kono’s wounds. His blood spilled out of his mouth, over his tongue, and into her wounds. Danny could taste their blood mingling together along with his saliva. The blood in the wound seemed to bubble and steam beneath his tongue and Danny prayed that he wasn’t too late.  
  
Behind them the sound of gunfire ceased.


	3. Chapter 3

  
  
**Six Hours Later; Queen’s Medical Center, Honolulu**  
  
Chin and Danny were pacing about the waiting room as they waited for Kono’s doctor to come back to them. Danny was still in his animal form, too emotionally wired up to calm down and shift back. Danny had jumped into the back of the ambulance with Kono, despite protests form the EMTs. Sargent Kupani had told the EMTs that Danny was a shifter and that he had shared blood with Kono, as they had been loading her into the ambulance. The look of open shock Danny had received had almost been worth one of the EMTs muttering something awed about shifters. One man obviously thought Danny was a shifter whose form was some kind of domesticated dog, rather than a wild predator. If he had known otherwise, Danny was sure the man would have held his tongue when he muttered at his awestruck partner that he simply turned into a damned haole mutt. Danny had felt vindicated though when the other EMT punched his coworker, and told him to shut up.  
  
Before the ambulance had even left Danny had heard Ailani on her cell phone calling Chin and telling him to get to Queens Medical Center. And sure enough by the time the EMTs were rolling Kono into the ER, Danny hot on their heels, Chin was already there at the reception desk trying to get some information out of the hassled and overworked looking nurse.  
  
Which brought them back to where they were now. Sitting in a private waiting room, as Danny’s animal form seemed to be freaking out many of the other patrons of the hospital, waiting for a doctor or nurse to come by with an update. Occasionally Danny would manage to collapse on the long couch next to Chin, who would pet him in an unconscious fashion as he stared at the doors. It didn’t last long though, and one or the other of them would get up to pace about again.  
  
John had called an hour back for an update, and Chin had had to tell him that Kono was in surgery and no one had come back yet. John and Duke had managed to get Snag Min to talk, how Danny didn’t want to know. But the snakehead had confirmed that he was bringing in people, though he denied that he was bringing in Ochoa. Fortunately, Sang Min’s little speech to Kono had been enough for them to seize all his containers at the pier, three of which were full of men, women, and children who didn’t speak English. But the last one was the one of most interest as the inside was set up like a four star hotel room, or as close as you could get without plumbing. From what they could tell this had been Ochoa’s private container.  
  
Ochoa was already on the island.  
  
John was at HPD speaking with IA now that they had no choice but to bring to their attention the fact that a known snakehead had revealed he had a mole in HPD to an undercover agent, and that said agent could potentially reveal that HPD was closing in on him. They still didn’t know who it was selling them out, only that it was someone in Danny’s department. Danny didn’t like that John was forced to get a headhunter involved in the matter, but at least they were able to keep the knowledge that Sang Min had been captured to the bare minimum possible.  
  
Of course when he could calm down enough to change back to human form Danny had a lot of questions he wanted to ask about the investigation. Not the least of which was if John had heard from Meka or Amy yet.   
  
“Mr. Kelly, Detective Williams,” came a cool voice near the doorway.  
  
Chin and Danny both snapped too attention, turning to face the doctor standing in the doorway. Danny whined low in his throat at the scent of Kono’s blood that clung to the man. The doctor, a middle aged Hawaiian man with thinning but still black hair, looked nervously at Danny.  
  
“How is she,” Chin asked in a rush.  
  
“She made it through the surgery just fine. All the bullets have been removed and the blood transfusion Detective Williams provided on site,” here the man looked nervously at Danny again. His adams apple bobbed in his throat before he managed to look away from the large canine shifter. “The blood he gave her saved her life. I’ve never seen anyone heal so fast. After seeing that I have no doubt that if he hadn’t given her his blood, she would have died before we could get her onto the table.”  
  
Chin gasped and his legs gave out. Danny swooped in, pressing his body against Chin’s back, offering support.  
  
“Oh, thank God,” Chin whispered.   
  
The doctor cleared his voice, the cold edge having faded to something warmer, if not more nervous. “We need to keep her overnight at least. Just to make sure she recovers from the surgery without complication.”  
  
“Okay.” Chin took a deep breath. “Thank you.”  
  
“Of course.” The doctor nodded. “You can go back and see her, but I will have to request that Detective Williams wait to visit until he has resumed his human form.”  
  
“Yes. Yes, of course.” Chin looked over his shoulder at Danny.   
  
Danny nodded that he understood, and the doctor seemed to take that as permission to leave, practically running out of the room.  
  
Danny nuzzled Chin, licking his cheek softly. Chin twisted in place, wrapping his arms around Danny’s neck and crying silently into his fur in relief. Danny leaned into his hold and sighed happily as his skin began to tingle and the shift took over, rippling over him in a pleasant wave. Chin didn’t seem to notice, even when Danny encircled him in his strong, but bare, arms. He let the man cry out all the emotions that had been building inside him since he watched Kono head off with the rest of them while he was forced to stay behind. If he cared at all that he was kneeling on the ground embracing a naked man that he had known for barely a month, he didn’t show it.  
  
“Oh,” came a startled famine voice.  
  
Danny looked up over Chin’s shoulder at the nurse who was blushing as she looked at them. Danny gave her a wide grin, one hand still carding gently through Chin’s thick dark curls. “You wouldn’t happen to have a spare set of scrubs I could borrow, would you?”  
  
She blushed even redder, but nodded. “I’ll just…just go get them for you.”  
  
Danny chuckled softly as she turned and darted away. “I think we embarrassed the pretty nurse, Chin.”  
  
Chin gave a hiccuping laugh into Danny’s collarbone. “Yeah.”  
  
“Yeah,” Danny said with a smile.  
  
Chin gave Danny a quick once over. “I don't think you have anything to be embarrassed about.”  
  
Danny grinned and let go of Chin. “Never got any complaints from the ladies.”  
  
Chin burst out laughing, which of course, was when the nurse came back into the room. In her arms was a pair of generic green hospital scrubs, ones that would hopefully fit Danny since no one had thought to send some of his clothes to the hospital while he waited to hear about Kono. But to give them some leeway, they were still actively in the middle of a case. A big one. They likely couldn’t spare one of the trusted few to make a run to Danny’s house for some spare clothes. So Danny would deal with the scrubs.  
  
“If you, uh, want to get dressed I’ll show you to the ICU.”  
  
Chin’s head snapped up to look at the nurse. “I thought she was doing alright?”  
  
“She is,” the nurse rushed ti reassure him. “It’s just a precaution because of the shifter blood she got. They want to keep a close eye on her as her body goes through the change.”  
  
Danny squeezed Chin’s shoulder. “She’ll make it through, Chin. She lasted this long with those wounds, which means she got a great fighting spirit.”  
  
“He’s right, Mr. Kelly. Your cousin is doing really well.” The nurse smiled and reached out to help Chin up off the floor. “I’ll lead you both back to her. Detective Williams, the doctors would like you to remain with her overnight in case she does a full shift while still under the effects of the drugs.”  
  
“Sure,” Danny replied. He had planned on staying with her overnight even if they hadn’t suggested it, just for that reason.   
  
They made their way through the maze of waiting rooms, check-in desks, and hallways until they finally reached the corridor that Kono was being kept in. They had to wait for the nurse to get through the security check into the ICU, which slowed things down, but relieved Danny and Chin that Kono had an added layer of protection. Danny could already pick up the sterile smell of bleach along with the depressing mix of illness and recent death that lingered all over. It was the same scent as every hospital he’d ever been in. Danny hated it. A hospital was meant to be a place of healing, but to any shifter it felt more like a morgue where the bodies just hadn’t died yet.  
  
Needless to say Danny avoided them like the plague.  
  
But for Kono, for this amazing young woman who had taken on this challenge they had thrown to her, before she’d even graduated…for her he would willingly spend the next twelve hours here.  
  
The room Kono had been assigned was a corner room at the very end of the hall. There were two empty rooms between her and the next patient, adding a little extra security for other patients that wouldn’t be able to escape from a disoriented shifter. The room was large for a hospital room, with an entire wall of windows. A second bed had been set up in the room against the wall next to the door, likely another security measure on the hospitals part. Kono herself was already safely resting in the main bed, an IV drip attached to her arm, and an oxygen mask attached as well. She had crisp white bandages wrapped around her throat and Danny was certain there was one low on her abdomen, and another on the shoulder. He couldn’t see them because of the hospital gown and blankets, but he very clearly remembered the other two gunshot wounds Kono had taken before they escaped the warehouse. Though neither of the other two had been as dangerous as the first, which had nicked a major artery.   
  
Still her color was good and her scent spoke of healing rather than death. Now they only had to wait to see if she shifted. Though with the apparent rapid healing the likelihood that she hadn’t contracted it was pretty slim. But there was still that tiny percentage of a chance.  
  
  
= = = H50 = = =   
  
  
**John McGarrett’s House, Oahu**  
  
  
John took a long drink of his beer before walking out of the kitchen to the beach out back, where Duke was sitting in Steve’s old chair. Duke was speaking too softly to hear from the house, but that was fine. John knew who Duke was speaking with and knew it was best that they keep the volume as low as possible in case anyone was spying on them. Chin hadn’t had a chance to go through the house this week to look for bugs, so John wasn’t willing to talk about their case where someone might be listening. Out here at least the sound of the surf would cover most anything a good spy signal might be able to pick up. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than using the phones at HPD.   
  
They still didn’t have the proof they needed but both Meka and Danny were leaning towards Kaleo being the dirty cop who had been working with Sang Min and Bastille. John didn’t know the younger man well enough to be able to tell on his own, but John was coming to trust in the other two as much as he trusted Chin and Duke. They both had a strong moral compass, good instincts, and excellent detecting skills. All things that were going to be tested if they were going to weed out all the corruption in HPD and in the Governor’s office. John was positive that the Governor, or someone close to her, was involved with either the Yakuza or the Triads. Possibly both. He just had to prove it.   
  
And Meka Hanamoa and Danny Williams looked to be his best bet to do it. Though if the hidden camera he managed to smuggle into the Governor's office last month worked, then that was all the better. Even if it wasn't court legal. It would still be enough for IA and for a government investigation into the matter, and if that cost him his job, well, so be it. He had a good long run in HPD and he wouldn't mind retiring once the corruption was purged.  
  
He took another long drink from his Longboard, watching as Duke headed back up towards the house and him. Duke didn’t look to worried, so hopefully that meant good news. “Well?”  
  
“Kono made it through surgery. Danny is going to stay with her overnight in case his blood changed her, and she ends up shifting.”  
  
John cracked a small smile, pleased the fiesta young woman was going to make it. “Any word from Meka and Amy?”  
  
“Yes,” Duke replied, waving John to sit down. “They made it safely to Singapore and have contacted the authorities there. They managed to get a warrant and will be going to the bank in a few hours.”  
  
“Hopefully it’ll be good news.”  
  
“Any news will be good news at this point,” commented Duke.   
  
A giddy shriek rang out from the house and the two men turned to look behind them. Grace and Billy were running out of the house towards them, with Kailani and Hiro chasing after them. The four children seemed to be playing tag, or something high spirited that made John smile wistfully at the sight. It had been so very long since his own kids were that age. Hell, it had been so long since he had even seen a picture of Steve look that happy, and he hadn’t even heard from Mary Anne in years. At least Steve was willing to call him, or write to him, every now and then.  
  
Duke stepped up next to him, putting a heavy hand on John’s shoulder. “We’re almost there, John.”  
  
John nodded, understanding what Duke was really trying to say. He appreciated the attempt at comforting John into believing that when all was said and done, his children would still want him in their lives.   
  
“What’s the next step in the plan,” asked John.  
  
“Well,” Duke said, moving his hand off John’s shoulder. “Danny is going to be stuck at the hospital with Kono, but we still have Chin, Ailani, and myself. I think we should stick to the plan and use our chance to trap Ochoa, and potentially Kaleo as well. We can ask around for someone to help us in an undercover role on our case. If he’s our mole then he’ll jump on the chance to get involved.”  
  
John nodded. “Will Yukino be okay watching the kids while we do this?”  
  
“She’ll be fine.” Duke waved John’s concerns off. “She has one of her sisters visiting and the two of them have agreed to take all the kids to the zoo.”  
  
“Alright then. Tell Yukino we’ll be going ahead with the plan tomorrow. I’ll let Chin and Ailani know.”  
  
Duke nodded and walked into the other room, already pulling out his phone.  
  
John walked over to the phone in his office, picking up the received and punching in the number to Chin’s cell. Once this was over, John knew Chin was going to start badgering him again about getting a real phone, but for now, his old 80s era landline worked just fine.   
  
**“John,”** came Chin’s voice over the receiver.  
  
“Chin,” John replied. “We are going ahead with the original plan.”  
  
 **“What about Danny and Kono?”**  
  
“They’ll stay at the hospital. Ailani will take Kono’s place, and we’ll be a man down. But will see about getting someone to take Danny’s place on the raid.”  
  
Chin was silent on the other end. John knew he was thinking it over, contemplating possible problems, and weighing potential outcomes. He had to be careful what he said since the phone could be bugged, and Chin wasn’t even a cop any longer and as such shouldn’t be involved in the take down anyway. **“Are you sure you still want me involved, John?”**  
  
“I still need you, Chin. You brought this to me and the contact trusts you.”  
  
 **“HPD-“**  
  
“HPD can take their complaints and shove it. They don’t have anything to prove you took that money, Chin.”  
  
 **“That doesn’t matter-“**  
  
“It does matter. You are a good cop, Chin. The best I ever trained up.” John felt the growling heat in his chest building that always accompanied him talking to anyone about how HPD had, and still was, treating Chin. “I’ve got a plan, but I’ll need to speak with the Governor about it.”  
  
 **“John-“**  
  
“Just be ready tomorrow. I’ll pick you up after we leave HPD.” John quickly hung up the phone before Chin could argue further. He wasn’t sure what he was about to do was the right thing, but it could solve a lot of problems short term. The Governor was dirty, of that he had no doubt. But he had known her for years, even before she became Governor, when she was just another friend of his dead wife’s. He still believed a part of why she was doing what she was doing, was to protect as many people as she could. Surely she hadn’t always been a pawn of the Yakuza.   
  
Still, he hesitated to call her. If he told her what was really going on then she could end up telling Wo Fat and Noshimura, which would destroy all the progress he had made over the last decade. But if he didn’t tell her, there could still be problems with the take down since Chin was involved and not an actual policeman. The courts could simply turn around and release Kaleo and Ochoa.  
  
Steeling his resolve, John pick up the phone again, dialing in the home number for Pat.  
  
 **“Jameson residence,”** came the lightly accented voice of Pat’s maid.  
  
“This is John McGarrett. I need to speak with Pat, please.”   
  
**“One moment Mr. McGarrett.”**   
  
The maid put the phone on hold, obviously to see if the Governor wanted to speak with him, before simply handing him over to her. It was only two minutes, but it gave John time to waver in his decision again. Before he could hang up the phone, Pat was there.  
  
 **“John,”** she asked, voice curious. **“What can I do for you?”**  
  
“I was hoping you might be free this evening.”  
  
 **“Are you asking me on a date, John,”** she asked teasingly.  
  
“Yes and no. It’s a bit of business I need to discuss first, and if you’d still like to stay after, I’d be glad to have diner with you.”  
  
She was quiet for a long time, and John began to wonder if she had hung up. **“What are you up to, John?”**  
  
“I’ve been meaning to give you your birthday gift for a week now, but I’ve been busy. I was hoping to drop it off with you, and ask you for some help as well.”  
  
 **“You didn’t need to get me anything, John.”** She sighed. **“Alright. Meet me here in an hour and I’ll have Marion make us diner, and we can talk this over.”**  
  
“I know, but you were Doris’ best friend and you kept me sane after she died.” John smiled sadly. “Thank you, Pat. For everything.”  
  
 **“You’re welcome, John. I hope you know that I consider you my friend as well? It wasn’t just Doris who I was friends with all these years.”**  
  
“I do, and I appreciate it more than you know.”  
  
 **“Good. I just hope you know what it is you are obviously doing.”**  
  
“Me too,” he sighed. “I’ll see you in an hour, Pat.”  
  
 **“Alright, John.”** The link clicked softly as she hung up and John set his own phone down, starring at it in the hopes that he had done the right thing.  
  
“John,” came Duke’s voice from the living room.  
  
“In here,” he called back, setting the phone down.  
  
Duke looked him over, brow furrowing. “What’s got you troubled?”  
  
“I just called Governor Jameson.”  
  
Duke sucked in a breath. “What? John, that wasn’t wise!”  
  
John dropped into his desk chair, rubbing at his eyes. “I know, but we need help.”  
  
“But the Governor-“  
  
“She was a friend of Doris’, did you know? They’d known each other since college. She helped Doris get her first job on the island.”  
  
“That’s all well and good, john, but,” Duke sighed. “What did you tell her?”  
  
“Nothing. Yet.” He looked back up at Duke. “I’m going to see her shortly.”  
  
“John-“  
  
“I’m going to sneak in some of Chin’s bugs, and give her a gift.”  
  
“A gift?”  
  
“A clock with a nanny cam hidden inside. I’ve been meaning to give it to her anyway.”  
  
“That’s fine, John. But what were you planning to ask her for help on?”  
  
John sighed again and looked up at Duke. “I’m going to tell her that I will accept her proportion of leading her task force, as long as she reinstates Chin tonight, so that I can have him on the task force.”  
  
“Task force,” asked Duke confusedly. “What task force?”  
  
“She approached me last month about wanting to set up a task force to take care of immediate problems, and bigger cases.” john shrugged. “It’s an election year and if she is seen as doing something to ensure the safety of the population, then it’s good for her.”  
  
“But I thought you were worried she was on the take?”  
  
“I am,” John said calmly. Now that it was done, or nearly so, he felt more calm and assured that he was doing the right thing. “Worried that is. But I think that I can sway her. If she is on the take, it’s probably because she thinks what she’s doing will protect people. And we’ve certainly had fewer gang wars in the last few years.”  
  
Duke looked out the windows at the ocean beyond, his lips pressed together in a scowl, and arms crossed over his chest. He was obviously displeased with John’s choice, but John had anticipated that already. Duke was a good cop, he wouldn’t like the thought that he had to trust someone who might be dirty, but John was sure that Duke could understand his reasoning. That the other man would accept it and let them move forward.  
  
“I don’t like it, but you know her better.” Duke turned to look at him. “Just be careful, john, because it isn’t just yourself who can be hurt if we misjudge this situation.”  
  
The joys laughter of the four children drifted to them from the upper landing, highlighting just what Duke was most worried about. John internally winced at the thought that he could cause any harm to come to these kids.  
  
“I know, Duke. I will do everything in my power to prevent anything from happening to them.”  
  
Duke sighed. “That’s all I can ask for.”  
  
“I’m going to get ready, feel free to stay here. I told Chin he could stay the night here as well.”  
  
Duke nodded. “I appreciate it. I’ll stay until you get back, then I’ll take my kids and head home. It’ll be best to try and look like nothing has changed in our routines.”  
  
“Of course.” John turned and walked out of the room. He had to change his clothes and grab the clock. Then he thought it’d be a good idea to ask for guidance and protection from any deity that might still be willing to listen to him.

  
= = = H50 = = =   
  
  
**1 Hour Later; Governor’s Mansion, Oahu**  
  
  
John followed Pat’s maid down the hallway to her office. It was late and it looked as if all the rest if the staff had already gone home save for this one live-in maid, and the security team. Which was perfectly fine as far as John was concerned. The fewer the people here, the less likely that one of them was working for Noshimura or Wo Fat. Talking to Pat was dangerous enough since he was sure she was working with them, but he hoped, he prayed, that she was still a friend enough that he could sway her back to the side of the law by convincing her what she was doing was not what was best for the people of Hawaii.  
  
The maid opened the door to the Governor’s office, gesturing him inside. He stepped past her, giving her a polite incline of his head before she shut the door behind him.  
  
“John,” Pat greeted him with a warm smile. “How are you?”  
  
“Tired,” he replied with a sigh. “I sometimes think I’m getting too old for this.”  
  
She laughed and pulled him into an awkward hug, what with the present in his arms trapped between them. “Never. I’m sure you are still fit enough to give those young recruits a run for their money.”  
  
He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips.  
  
She placed her hand on his elbow, gently guiding him to the sitting area in the corner of her office. A serving tray was already on the small coffee table and John could smell the wonderful scent of grilled ahi coming from under one of the domed plates. He let her guide him down onto the couch against the wall, so that he could see the rest of the room, and smiled. She still remembered that he preferred to have his back to the wall when he was seated anywhere but his own home.  
  
“This smells delicious, Pat.”  
  
She laughed warmly and took the seat across from him, lifting up the two silver domes and setting them aside. “I’ll make sure to pass on your thanks to the cook.”  
  
For a moment both of them seemed to just close their eyes and breath in the aromas of the fish, jasmine rice, steam vegetables, and the crusty bread that made up their plates. He hadn’t eaten anything this nice in years. A meal like this was not a cheap one, especially on a cop budget. In fact the last time he had eaten grilled ahi was his last anniversary with Doris right before she died. In fact, as he thought about it, this was the exact same meal he had shared with his wife! He wondered if that was meant as a signal to him of something, or if it was mere coincidence?  
  
“I haven’t had a meal like this since Doris died,” he said into the silent room.  
  
“Oh,” asked Pat. “I’m sorry, John.”  
  
“It’s fine. Just haven’t had a reason to buy ahi since she was killed.”  
  
Pat looked at him and set down her fork. “You believe she was murdered?”  
  
“I have proof that the car accident wasn’t an accident. It was a bomb.”  
  
“Oh,” she exclaimed. “How horrible! Do you know who did it?”  
  
“I have a lead, but not enough proof to take to court.” He took a long drink of water from the glass beside his plate. “Someone killed her because I was getting too close to the head of the Yakuza on the island.”  
  
“What,” Pat said, honestly surprised.  
  
“I found out that Noshimura is the head of the Yakuza. I need a bit more proof to be certain he can’t get out of it with a good lawyer, but if he was anyone other than who he is, I would have him in lock-up now.”  
  
“You’re certain, John? Mr. Noshimura has done a lot of good for this island. He’s well respected in the community.”  
  
“Exactly why I haven’t brought him in on charges yet.” He looked up at Pat, meeting her eyes. “There is no doubt that he is the head of the Yakuza and that he ordered the bomb placed on my car. If Doris’ car hadn’t been in the shop that day, I would have been driving and it would be my charred remains buried at the cemetery right now.”  
  
“Oh, John. I never realized you blamed yourself for her death!”  
  
John shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation. He hadn’t spoken to anyone about his feelings in regards to his wife’s death. He certainly hadn’t expected that he would tell the woman he had started to think was working with the man who killed her. But here he was.  
  
 _‘Maybe,’_ he thought, _‘I should have listened to Chin. I should have never come here.’_  
  
“John,” Pat started, pausing for a moment in obvious uncertainty. “You aren’t responsible for what happened to Doris.”  
  
“I am. If my investigation brought on her death, then it is my fault. We had a family, Pat! A family that I put in danger. I family I had to throw away to protect. God,” he cried, pushing his hands through his hair. “I haven’t seen my son since he was sixteen! And Mary Anne was even younger!”  
  
Pat leaned over the table, taking his hand in her own. When he looked up her figured blurred slightly from the tears clinging to his lashes.  
  
“There is a lot that you don’t know, John. A lot that I can’t say. But I can guarantee you that you are not responsible for Doris’ death. If anyone is responsible it is Doris.”  
  
“What,” he asked confused, one hand brushing away the tears from his eyes. The other hand still grasping onto Pat like a desperate lifeline. “I don’t understand.”  
  
“It all goes back to Shelbourne.” Pat hesitated again, something in her eyes telling John she was desperate to say more, but that she had already said too much.  
  
“Shelbourne,” he whispered. He had already gotten that name from one contact, but he still didn’t know who it was, or what it meant!   
  
He squeezed her hand again, suddenly certain that this woman might be working with the Yakuza and the mysterious Wo Fat, but she wasn’t corrupted. She had her own plans in motion, perhaps even plans similar to John’s own. Steeling his resolve he decided to give her the clock. He still wouldn’t tell her about the camera in it, or the bug he had placed under the coffee table. But he would tell her about the mole in HPD and that they were going to take down a drug runner and how he needed Chin to help.  
  
He gave her a weak smiled, released her hand, and picked up the wrapped box sitting on the floor next to him. “Happy late birthday, Pat.”  
  
She gave him a sad smile, obviously understanding that he wanted to change the subject. “Thank you, john. You know you didn’t have to get me anything.”  
  
John shrugged. “I’ve not been a good friend recently as my new partner has made clear to me.”  
  
“Oh,” she asked curious.  
  
“Yeah,” John smiled and shook his head, cheeks still damp from his tears. “He’s fresh from the mainland. He’s a damn good cop. Eighty-seven solved cases since he made detective, all prior to coming here. He’s already got three solved cases under his belt for HPD despite them not wanting to work with him.”  
  
“That is impressive,” she replied honestly.  
  
“Yeah.” John shook his head. “He moved here for his daughter. Apparently the ex-wife took the kid and ran from New Jersey to here when she remarried and the guy up and moved just so he could see his daughter every other weekend. Poor guy got put through the ringer in the divorce because the wife was rich enough to afford an expensive attorney.”  
  
“That doesn’t seem fair.”  
  
“No, it’s not. We’ve been partners only a short while now, but I can tell he is a damn fine man. I’ve never seen a guy so dedicated to his child as Detective Williams is.”  
  
“He sounds like he’s impressed you.”  
  
“He has. I’ll be sad to lose him as a partner with Detective Hanamoa comes back from vacation.”  
  
She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before beginning to carefully pull open the wrapping paper on the heavy box he had handed to her. “If you decided to run the task force, you could always request Detective Williams be a part of it.”  
  
“That’s one of the things I was hoping to talk with you about.” He smiled and gave a pointed look at the package she was holding.  
  
She looked down, chuckling softly, and finished unwrapping it. Setting the paper carefully aside for her maid to recycle, she opened the box. “Oh, John! You shouldn’t have.”  
  
With great care she lifted out the antique clock, brushing the box off her lap so she could rest the clock against her legs. “It’s beautiful!”  
  
“It is.” john filed again. “I know how you love your antiques.”  
  
“John, this must have cost a fortune!”  
  
“Not really. I save the shop owners life once and he gave me quite the deal on it. Especially once he knew it was a gift for you.”  
  
Pat smiled at him, running her fingers over the polished wood. “I know just the place for it.”  
  
She stood up and walked back towards her desk. She set in on the desk and turned back to the end table behind, and to the side, of her desk. With quick, deft movements she removed the more modern clock that had been sitting on the table, and put the antique clock in it’s place. She stepped back, looking at it with a frown, then shifted it about until she was happy with it’s placement.  
  
“Perfect,” she said to herself. “That’s just the spot.”  
  
She stood for a minutes longer, admiring the way the light played off the wood. It really was a beautiful clock. John stood up, and walked over to her. He stopped beside her, their shoulders brushing.   
  
“I’m glad you like it, Pat.”  
  
“Thank you for getting it for me, John. It really is too much.”  
  
“Nonsense.”  
  
She turned to look at him, a mischievous smile dancing across her face. “Now what favor do you want for it?”  
  
John chuckled. “I’ll take the job of running the task force, but I’d like to have Detective Williams, his partner Meka Hanamoa, and Officer Duke Lukela all made part of the task force if they’d agree. Also, I am hoping that you’d be willing to reinstate Chin Ho Kelly and assign him to the task force.”  
  
She looked up towards the ceiling, a thoughtful look on her face. “Kelly…Kelly. He’s the one who stole the money from the HPD Assets Forfeiture Locker?”  
  
“He was accused of it, but there has been no proof that he ever stole the money. IA wasn’t even willing to look for other suspects, and even though he was cleared no one trusted him again. So he quite.”  
  
“You trust him, John?”  
  
“I trained him, Pat. I know Chin Ho Kelly. He would never steal from anyone. He’s a good kid and he doesn’t deserve what IA and HPD did to him.” He looked her in the eye. “I need people I can trust to have my back if we do this, Pat. I need Chin Ho Kelly.”  
  
She met his gaze, looking for something in his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.”  
  
“Can you do it before tomorrow? I need him for a raid on a major drug cartel.”  
  
She sighed. “Fine. Let me fill out the paperwork.”  
  
“Thank you, Pat. You’re the best.” John smiled and glanced at the clock behind the Governor.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you are wondering [THIS](http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2013/09/African-wild-dogs-600x428.jpg) is what I based Danny, and Grace's, shifter form on.


End file.
